English
the narrator’s afterthoughts
And now six years have already gone by…
I have never yet told this story. The companions who met me on my return were well content to see me alive. I was sad, but I told them: “I am tired.”
Now my sorrow is comforted a little. That is to say– not entirely. But I know that he did go back to his planet, because I did not find his body at daybreak. It was not such a heavy body… and at night I love to listen to the stars. It is like five hundred million little bells…
But there is one extraordinary thing… when I drew the muzzle for the little prince, I forgot to add the leather strap to it. He will never have been able to fasten it on his sheep. So now I keep wondering: what is happening on his planet? Perhaps the sheep has eaten the flower…
At one time I say to myself: “Surely not! The little prince shuts his flower under her glass globe every night, and he watches over his sheep very carefully…” Then I am happy. And there is sweetness in the laughter of all the stars.
But at another time I say to myself: “At some moment or other one is absent-minded, and that is enough! On some one evening he forgot the glass globe, or the sheep got out, without making any noise, in the night…” And then the little bells are changed to tears…
Here, then, is a great mystery. For you who also love the little prince, and for me, nothing in the universe can be the same if somewhere, we do not know where, a sheep that we never saw has– yes or no?– eaten a rose…
Look up at the sky. Ask yourselves: is it yes or no? Has the sheep eaten the flower? And you will see how everything changes…
And no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance!
This is, to me, the loveliest and saddest landscape in the world. It is the same as that on the preceding page, but I have drawn it again to impress it on your memory. It is here that the little prince appeared on Earth, and disappeared.
Look at it carefully so that you will be sure to recognise it in case you travel some day to the African desert. And, if you should come upon this spot, please do not hurry on. Wait for a time, exactly under the star. Then, if a little man appears who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is. If this should happen, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back……
THE END
中文
叙述者事后的一些想法
如今，六年已经过去了……
我从未向人讲起过这个故事。我回来时，伙伴们见到我平安无事，都感到很高兴。我当时很忧伤，但我对他们说：“我只是累了。”
如今，我的悲伤稍微平复了些。也就是说——并未完全消散。但我知道他确实回到了自己的星球，因为天亮时，我没有找到他的身躯。那副身躯并不算沉重……而夜晚，我总爱凝望星空，倾听那仿佛是五亿颗小铃铛的声响……
可是，现在却又发生了不寻常的事。我给小王子画的羊嘴套上，忘了画皮带！ 他再也不可能把它套在羊嘴上。于是，我思忖着：“他的星球上发生了什么事呢？大概小羊把花吃掉了吧……”
有时我安慰自己：“肯定不会！小王子每晚都把花罩在玻璃罩下，而且他会非常小心地看管羊……”这时我便感到欣慰，群星的笑声也仿佛沁着蜜糖般的甘甜。
可另一些时候我又不禁担忧：“人总有疏忽的瞬间，而一瞬疏忽便足以酿成遗憾！或许某个夜晚他忘了罩上玻璃罩，或许羊在夜深人静时悄无声息地钻了出来……”想到这儿，漫天的铃铛声便化作了泪水……
这真是个重大的谜题。对于你们这些同样深爱小王子的人，对于我，倘若在宇宙某处——我们无从知晓的地方，那只我们从未谋面的羊，究竟是否——吃掉了那朵玫瑰？那么整个宇宙都将不再相同……
请仰望星空吧。问问自己：是，还是否？羊究竟有没有吃掉那朵花？你会发现，万物皆因此而改变……
而大人们永远无法理解，这竟是如此重要的一件事！
对我来说，这是世界上最美也最凄凉的风景。它和前一页画的是同一个地方，但我把它重画了一遍，只为让它深深镌刻在你们的记忆里。就是在这里，小王子曾在地球上出现，然后又消失了。
请凝望这幅画吧，愿你们日后若游历非洲沙漠时，能确信认出这个地方。倘若你偶然途经此地，我恳请你，切莫匆匆而行。就在那颗星辰之下稍作停留吧。到那时，如果有一个小人儿向你走来，如果他在笑，如果他有一头金发，如果他拒绝回答你的问题，你就会知道他是谁了。如果真的发生了这种事，请给我些许慰藉：快些写信告诉我吧，就说……他回来了。
剧终
一部分内容摘录自《小王子》。 如有侵权， 请联系作者删除
